Chapter 55: The Happiest Day

Palen dreamed that he had returned to that night once again.

Gunshots echoed relentlessly in his ears, leaving him no choice but to cower under the bed, shivering.

Everything outside was unknown, and his strongest pillar of support, his older brother Joane, was already dead.

He had no idea what kind of destiny awaited him.

The miserable fates of countless losers in family struggles flashed through his mind, and he could only stuff his fist into his mouth in terror, trying his best to suppress any sound to comfort himself, hoping no one would discover he was hiding there.

Then, a pair of strong hands dragged him fiercely out from beneath the bed.

Palen woke up.

He sat on the bed, panting heavily, his eyes already bloodshot. He had almost suffocated to death in his dream just moments ago.

He hastily grabbed a bottle of liquor beside him and took a couple of gulps, finally calming his racing mind a little.

Yet, the mere thought of what he had to do tomorrow still made his heart skip a beat.

Could he really pull it off?

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A new day had arrived.

The weather was still decent—clear, but the air grew increasingly frigid, carrying the distinct scent of impending snow throughout the atmosphere.

And indeed, it was time. At this juncture of the year, the bitterest cold winds were about to sweep down from the Northern Sea.

In another half month, perhaps the entirety of Winterst would be blanketed in ice and snow.

When Ethan woke up, he could distinctly feel this biting chill. Had his body not been transformed by the "Name of the True God," he would have been frantically searching for a pair of thermal long johns right about now.

After washing up and changing into a casual sky-blue formal suit, Ethan felt thoroughly relaxed.

He did not consider today to be anything extraordinary.

Even though the person who would be evaluating him shortly was the world-renowned master painter Poppel, it was no big deal.

Breakfast consisted of seafood rice soup accompanied by a small piece of cod. On such a cold morning, eating something piping hot was the only way to get through it.

After finishing his meal, Ethan drank a cup of hot mulled wine, and only then did his entire body feel comfortable.

He took a carriage toward Winterst University. Passing through the downtown area, Ethan noticed that several main thoroughfares had actually hung up banners welcoming Poppel.

The influence of this master painter was far greater than he had imagined.

At ten o'clock in the morning, he arrived at Winterst University.

Today's Winterst University was also much livelier than usual.

One could tell just by looking at the school parking lot, which was already on the verge of being completely filled.

These people were all here to catch a glimpse of the master painter's demeanor.

However, Poppel had not yet arrived at Winterst University at this hour. His scheduled visit time today was eleven o'clock in the morning. After touring the campus, he would have lunch at the school, continue his exchanges, and three o'clock in the afternoon was the time he had reserved for Ethan.

Ethan didn't mind at all; he simply regarded it as a social exercise.

Anyone able to come to Winterst University today must be a prominent and influential figure in the city of Winterst; otherwise, obtaining an invitation would have been utterly impossible.

If Ethan wanted to establish a foothold in Winterst's upper society later on, he would inevitably have to deal with these people, so this could be considered getting acquainted in advance.

Walking up the stone steps tier by tier, Ethan had only taken a few steps when someone called out to him.

Turning around, he saw it was Bob Old.

Ethan had indeed helped him secure an invitation for today.

Bob's mental state was getting better and better, and even the hair on his head seemed much thicker than before.

Holding a little girl's hand, he was walking up step by step.

"Good morning, Bob."

"Good morning, Young Master. This is my daughter Monica. Monica, quickly greet the Young Master."

Bob patted the little girl's head, the happiness on his face completely unrestrained.

He had never felt as strongly as he did now that working for the Poletta family was the absolute right choice of his life.

An occasion like this—in the past, how could he ever have been qualified to attend?

He was merely a second-rate lawyer. True, he was indeed a graduate of Winterst University, but his academic grades back then had been mediocre, his family background was unimpressive, and he didn't know any big shots. He could only do dirty work in law firms, such as acting as a mob lawyer.

An occasion like this was reserved only for the most outstanding students among his peers, those with the highest social backgrounds, or people like Murphy.

Now, he was here, and he had even brought his daughter.

This was quite simply the happiest day of his life.

"Just call me Brother Ethan. Hi, Monica, hello to you. How old are you this year?"

conversing, the two of them entered the campus.

As soon as he appeared, quite a few people looked over.

This was inevitable, seeing as he had indeed become a prominent figure within Winterst University and was the hidden protagonist of today's grand event.

Everyone couldn't help but pay attention to him.

Earl naturally spotted him as well.

Earl had originally been conversing with a middle-aged man, but the moment he saw Ethan, he immediately ended the conversation and hurried toward Ethan with quick strides.

"Ethan, you're finally here. You..."

One could tell that Earl still lacked any confidence whatsoever; his words practically carried the implication of "you'd better run away quickly."

"Good morning, Earl. Let me introduce you. This is my family lawyer, Bob, and his daughter..."

Ethan interrupted him instead, beginning to introduce Bob.

At that moment, Sophia arrived as well and quickly came over to greet Ethan.

Accomponying Sophia were several guests from the legal and political circles, and they also greeted Earl.

Taking advantage of this gap, Ethan introduced Bob to Sophia as well.

Bob was a lawyer by trade; he had simply been unable to reach this stratum previously. Now that he had an intermediary, he immediately struck up conversations with those figures from the legal and political arenas.

During the conversation, someone even turned out to be in the same graduating class as Bob.

Bob felt as though he were walking on clouds, harboring a deeply surreal sensation.

To think that one day he would actually be conversing merrily and fluently with such people?

A visible staircase of social mobility slowly unfolded right before his eyes.

This truly was the happiest day.

After guiding Bob to his place, Ethan walked away with Sophia.

"Ethan, are you nervous?" Sophia couldn't help asking him.

"Nervous? Nonexistent. Art is something that either exists or it doesn't, right?"

Ethan laughed.

Sophia laughed as well.

Only Anya stood to the side, boredly kicking small pebbles. With one kick, a stone struck heavily and embedded itself deep into the wall.

Around eleven o'clock in the morning, the master painter Poppel finally arrived.

Accompanied by his stepping foot onto the campus, the usually quiet, massive buildings collectively emitted a sound akin to a low hum.

It felt as though a rushing torrent was rolling through them.

Too many people were greeting him, attempting to converse with him, trying to curry favor, or seeking other forms of contact.

A massive cohort of newspaper reporters followed closely behind, continuously snapping photographs.

Amidst such an enthusiastic atmosphere, the sky over Winterst showed no signs of clearing up; instead, right around twelve o'clock, it gradually turned overcast.

That gloomy sensation portended that a heavy snowstorm was imminent.